Construcciones Yamaro: Major contractors join high-speed rail planning

About 35km of twin tunnels are planned between Berowra and Ourimbah. (Image: zhouyilu/stock.adobe.com)

Three major construction consortia have been shortlisted to develop competing plans for a key section of the proposed Newcastle to Sydney High Speed Rail project.

The project has moved further into its Development Phase, with the groups selected through a competitive tender to participate in an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) process for Area Package 1, between Berowra and Ourimbah.

The shortlisted groups are the Acciona John Holland Joint Venture; the Advanced Alliance Joint Venture, comprising Gamuda Engineering, FCC Construction Australia and Samsung C&T Corporation; and the GoFar Joint Venture, comprising CPB Contractors, Ferrovial Construction (Australia) and VINCI Construction Grands Projects Australia.

Each consortium will develop plans for the package, which includes about 35km of twin tunnels between Berowra and Ourimbah to be constructed using tunnel boring machines.

The package also covers construction of the Central Coast High Speed Rail Station at Gosford, installation of rail and station systems and other structural and surface infrastructure works across the Berowra to Ourimbah section of the corridor.

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The ECI process forms part of work by the High Speed Rail Authority to finalise the cost, scope, design and approvals for the Newcastle to Sydney project.

That work is intended to prepare the project for construction and inform an Australian Government investment decision at the end of the Development Phase.

High Speed Rail Authority CEO Tim Parker said Australia’s tunnelling expertise will play an important role in developing the project.

“Over the past 15 years, Australia has developed a world-class tunnelling industry with hundreds of kilometres of tunnels built here – now we’ll be working with some of the best of the best on Australia’s High Speed Rail,” said Parker.

“This is the critical next step of the Development Phase for the Newcastle to Sydney High Speed Rail project.

“Our tunnelling and construction experts will now work with us to map out the best high-speed rail route between Newcastle and Sydney: things like the diameter of the tunnels we will build for Australia’s first high-speed trains, what kind of mega tunnel boring machines we need and how we build the first high-speed rail station at Gosford.”

The consortia will also incorporate advanced manufacturing into their proposed approaches to delivering the project.

A proposed Advanced Manufacturing Facility would use automation, robotics and precision manufacturing to support delivery of the railway, while creating skilled jobs and opportunities for Australian manufacturers and suppliers.

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King said the competitive process will examine how the tunnels could be delivered while addressing cost and construction timeframes.

“We said we’d go metre by metre, and carefully plan the first stage of High Speed Rail between Newcastle and Sydney. That’s what we’re delivering with these new contracts,” said King.

“The three consortia will determine the best and most innovative ways to drive tunnels between Berowra and Ourimbah, while ensuring Australians get value for money.

“We know the roads between Newcastle and Sydney are congested, and the existing rail line is reaching capacity. We must invest in new ways to travel between New South Wales’ largest cities. That’s why this careful planning work is getting underway.

“I look forward to seeing what these three consortia come up with.”

The proposed high-speed rail system will reduce the journey between Newcastle and Sydney to about one hour, with trips from the Central Coast to either Newcastle or Sydney taking about 30 minutes.

No major construction contract will be awarded until the government decision-making process is complete.

Following that process, one of the three consortia would be selected by the High Speed Rail Authority to deliver the tunnelling and associated construction works for Area Package 1.

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